The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1887-02-12
Br0adbrimS New York Letter.

Special to the CARBON ADVOCATE.
If.you can imagine the feeling of a man
sitting on top of a barrel of giant powder
with the head knocked out and his bitter
est enemy standing by with lighted torch
in his hand, you can have some idea of tho
feelings Of our people for the last six days
1t is not altogether from what the striker;
have done as from the probabilities sug
gested by their presence of what they might
10. Considering the immense numbers
engaged in the strike, the adverse interests
involved, and the Tremendous stakes played
| for in the struggle, the only wonder is thai
there has been so little trouble and SO little
| violence. Here and there some obstreper
ous and drunken striker has been dubbed
by the police, or some non-union man has
received beating from the strikers, but
striking general average, as an insurance
man would say, all the circumstances con.
| sidered, / doubt if queter or better be.
haved body of men could be found in any
country in the world. Still there has been
the week as to what was going to happen
for solid body of thirty or forty thousand
men acting all one way, and such men as
the strikers are, cannot be wisely sighted
or despised.
l took a stroll along the wharves several
times during the week and on every corner
! found knots of idle men. There was lit.
tie loud talking, no threats, and very little
drinking. Many of the groups stood to-
gether without exchanging a single word
but there was something terribly earnest
about them, and as | looked at their weather
beaten faces and brawny arms they were
suggestive of tremendous possibilities.
Every branch of trade has been affected by
| the strillc-the butcher, the baker, and
candlestick-maker suffering in the general
| depression. What has a coal strike got tc
do with tailors and grocers? you ask Very
much. Most of our large manufacturing
concerns use more or less machinery. Coal
is the motive power, and these factories
have been compelled to shut down. Ono
OF the largest sugar houses in Brooklyn
was compelled to stop ard seven hundred
men were thrown out of employment by
the strikes. All the papers have advertise
ments for men at fifteen dollars a week OF
thirty cents an hour for day work and
sixty cents for night work. night work
commencing at p. NJ, so that a man who
works thirteen hours makes nearly five
dollars dav. Though there are thousands
who want work. when they see that solid
army of determined strikers even five dol
lars a day is scarcely a temptation.
Never before in the history of these two
cities of New York and Brooklyn haye we
been called upon TO meet anything like this
organized resistance Of labor. Every one
feels that it is life and death struggle. If
he unions are victorious it pavcs the way
with capital for all future demands how.
ever exorbitant and unreasonable, and on
the other hand, if capital is allowed to
triumph, good bye to the Knights of Labor;
their power will be broken, and they can
never again become serious factors in the
eNAAlNhiNAt VI iftoOA HhNSNlO4los W nllt cap
ital has been inexperienced, all the real
suffering has been inflicted on the poor.
The sudden rise in the price of coal In mid
winter, to double or triple its former value,
has been a serious calamity to the poor.
II has not only deprived them of fire in
their homes, but it has been the means of
closing their workshops and factories, de-
priying them Of employment and bringing
them to the verge of starvation. II looks
TO me as II capital was materially benefited
by the strike instead of being injured as
the strikers intended. Every ton of coal
that now comes into the city brings from two
to three dollars a ton more than it did three
weeks ago. There are about two millions
Of tons of coal ready for delivery, and the
strikers have made this coal worth two OF
three millions Of dollars more than It was
on the first OF January. We hope for an